The Call of the Ocean
by Sleep is Overrated
Summary: "Sometimes I miss the ocean. I miss the wind in my hair, and the sound of crashing waves lulling me to sleep. I miss the thrill of the fight, and the joy of friendship. Alas, that was a lifetime ago. Even so, every day I find it harder and harder to resist the sweet call of the ocean. Even so, I find myself longing for the freedom that I used to embrace so softly a lifetime ago."
1. Prologue - The World Comes Crashing Down

Prologue

The usually bustling town of Bosia sat empty, devoid of life. Once proud buildings stood in ruins, their brightly colored walls standing out amidst the gray of ash. The town had fallen, all of it's residents dead. All except one. An eight year old girl huddled inside of the shambles of her home, shivering in the moonlight. '_It's all my fault that this happened. It's my fault that they're all dead.'_

_Flashback_

_A brown haired girl skipped through the streets, calling out greetings_ _to everybody she recognized. She carried a bag in her hand, full of groceries for her parents. She glanced to the odd looking fruit that sat on top. She had found it in a chest next to some creepy men, drunk out of their wits no doubt. It had looked extremely tasty, so she had swiped it and ran like hell. Needless to say, this girl wasn't as innocent as she looked._

_ She whistled a jaunty tune as she fumbled for her keys to the house. Her parents owned a rather large house, large even for the rich town of Bosia. She glanced again at the fruit. 'I guess it wouldn't hurt to take a bite now, seeing as I'm starving... I'm sure mama and pa wont mind...' It was shaped like an apple and was adorned by bright yellow swirls. She sunk her teeth in, hunger taking over. "BLEH!" she shouted, disgusted by the foul taste. "This tastes awful! This must be the worst thing that I've ever tasted!"_

_ She had finally found her keys, and unlocked the door. "Hi ma! Hi pa! I'm back from the shop!" Her father walked into sight upon hearing her shout. He took one look at the girl, or rather, what the girl was holding, and screamed, his eyes bugging out. "Kristie! Spit that out right now! That's a devil fruit!" Kristie followed her fathers wishes as best she could. Her father didn't scream much, and when he did, it usually meant that something was serious. "Kristie do you know what you just ate?" He exclaimed, obviously shaken. "Yes! Disgusting! It looked so tasty, but it tastes so bad!" she exclaimed. "Honey that was a devil fruit! Now you'll never be able to swim again!"_

_ Kristie looked at her father horrified. She loved the water. Her parents often joked that she was secretly a mermaid. If she could never swim again... than what was she supposed to do?_

_ However, their conversation was cut short when the unmistakable BANG of a pistol rang throughout the town."Stay here honey. Whatever you do, don't go outside," Kristie's father told her as he went through the doorway. Kristie pulled up a stool to the door, and looked through the peephole. It was one of the scary men from before! "Listen up people, one of you has stolen something of ours, and we would like it back. NOW! He accentuated the last syllable with another shot fired in the air. Kristie drew back. Could they mean the devil fruit that she had accidentally eaten?_

_ She looked back again to see the mayor of Bosia step forward. "Now look here mister. Everybody in this town are perfectly respectable people. None of them would even think about stealing something that wasn't theirs." "Except for that kleptomaniac brat," he mumbled under his breath. The man began to walk away, but yelled behind him, "This isn't over! You haven't seen the last of the bloody axe pirates!" The villagers watched as the pirate disappeared over the horizon._

_ And they hadn't seen the last of them. Not at all._

_Night, two days later_

_ Two days later, the pirates had faded from the villagers minds. Empty threats, they decided. Nothing to worry ourselves about. That night, they realized just how wrong they were. It started with a soft glow in the distance. Just an optical illusion, the told themselves. Nothing to worry ourselves about. Then came the ragged people. Just weary travelers in the night. Nothing to worry ourselves about. It was when they started to torch the buildings that they realized just how horribly wrong they were. Kristie peeked out of her bedroom window to see hundreds of people, bearing the mark of a bloody axe. 'They came,' she thought, scurrying away from the window. 'They really came. All over a fruit. A fruit that I stole.'_

_ Her parents burst into her room with a frantic look in their eyes. "Kristie!" they shouted. "Kristie, hide. Whatever you do, do NOT try to find us. Stay here honey. It will all be alright." Kristie knew that it was a lie. 'It would not be alright,' she decided. People were dying out in the streets, all because of her._

_ The family heard a loud *THUMP*. THUMP. THUMP. THUMP. The source of the noise, undoubtedly a pirate, became closer. ThumpThumpThumpThumpThumpThump. Was that the pirate, or my beating heart? Kristie wondered. The sound of floorboards creaking filled the room._

_ Kristie's parents turned to her. "Honey, whatever you do, not NOT move. Do NOT move Kristie._

_Her parents silently crept through the doorway to investigate the source of the noises that would terrorize Kristie in her dreams for years to come. Thump. Thump. Thump. A scuffle. A... scream. Thump. A sickening squelch. Silence. Kristie waited throughout the night, listening intently for more noise, but was met with utter silence._

Kristie sat in the corner of her room with tears streaming down her cheeks, watching her world burn.


	2. Chapter 1 - Well, This is Unfortunate!

A/N I do not own One Piece. I don't know if I'm actually obligated to state this, but I'm doing it anyways.

* * *

Chapter 1 – Well, This is Unfortunate!

17 years later

I, admittedly, am a proud, bordering on cocky woman. This being said, I would rather die than admit that I have made a mistake. However, just this time, It is pretty safe to say that I screwed up royally.

I gazed around the damp cell. Not much to see, really. Just a bunch of unfortunate sods waiting to be sold. You see, because of a chain of extremely unfortunate occurrences, I had ended up in a human auction house, waiting to be sold to some rich asshole. Funny story, really.

The room was depressing, even for a prison cell. The walls were damp, and the entire room was laced with despair. Several plans rushed through my head, trying to make sense of the situation at hand. I could let myself be sold and make a break for it when my master least expects it. This would be easy given my powers. I had been very careful not to reveal that I had eaten a devil fruit. Surprise is a very valuable thing, as far as break outs go.

Then was plan b. Really simple, actually. Step 1: Wait for an opening. This part would be easy. The security there was surprisingly lax, given the nature of the place. They probably had thought that the explosive collars around our necks would suffice. Step 2: Make a mad dash towards the exit. Again, not very difficult. Step 3: Grab a bite to eat and enjoy the chaos.

I was cut out of my thoughts when somebody called "Number 17! I repeat! Number 17 to the stage!" All of the prisoners turned to me. Confused, I looked at them. Then at my number. A smirk slid onto my face as I got up, praying that nobody noticed that I no longer had my collar on. To my relief, nobody had, except for the old man. But I was pretty certain that he would stay quiet.

I discreetly tossed the collar aside as I was led onto the stage. I walked confidently to the center of the stage. For added effect I began to whistle a cheery tune that my late mother had sang to me as a child. I noticed the surprise on the crowds faces. Priceless! They had probably expected me to be a blubbering mess, like the others. Well, like I said, I'm a proud woman.

The announcer man, (Disco, was it?) began to scream in an overly dramatic tone. "Entry #16, pirate Lacuba, was extremely nervous and collapsed after a nosebleed, so his introduction will have to wait for another day."

'Nosebleed? What bullcrap,' I thought. I considered voicing my opinion. If I did, there was a strong chance that I would be punished. But, at the moment, I could really care less about repercussions. "Really? A _nosebleed_? I caught a glimpse of the man backstage, and I'm fairly certain that blood was coming out of his _mouth._"

Disco looked as if he was struck. His shock quickly turned into anger, and it showed on his face. "Oh come on, don't give me that look," I exclaimed dramatically. "Sometimes death just happens!"

The crowd gasped at my audacity. Apparently, talking about death is a big no-no here. Disco took several deep breath, and looked back at the audience, resuming his normal tone.

"As you can see here," he shouted nervously, " we've got a rather spirited one! The beautiful Kristie Rast! She loves to clean-" Here I began to lightly chuckle. "-and do chores!" Disco continued, obviously annoyed. At this I laughed harder, my voice echoing around the room. I was pretty sure that I could see steam coming out of Disco's ears at that point. "She also is very beautiful and loves taking orders!"

Finally I couldn't take it. I doubled over wheezing, almost crying. "Oh my god dude. I understand that you're trying to present a good image of your items, but who ACTUALLY enjoys being ordered around?" I choked out between laughs. I was rather enjoying Disco's face at this point. His face was turning red, making him look pretty ridiculous.

He leaned over to me and whispered in my ear angrily. "Now look here woman. You are presenting a bad image of yourself! No one will want you now!"

I stood up taller. "Really, it's your fault for not letting my take my medication. The mood swings wouldn't be nearly this bad."

Disco was about to shout something at me, most likely a string of rather nasty curses, but suddenly, of all things, the wall exploded. All eyes turned to the source of the noise. In the grand scheme of things it really wasn't as odd as I perceived it to be at the time. Just a kid with a straw hat crashing through a wall on a flying fish. Really, I've seen weirder.

Before Disco could recover, I patted Disco on the shoulder. "Well, thats my cue to skedaddle the fuck on out of here," I shouted over the commotion. Once again, the crowd shifted to look at me. I sent a quick salute to Disco, took a single step, and disappeared.

Unknown to them, I reappeared in a secluded room adjacent from the holding cell. I looked around frantically. It was a very plain room, with gray walls, a gray ceiling and, you guessed it! A grey floor. There was a pile of weapons in the corner. As I spotted the pile, my face lit up gleefully and I dove headfirst into the pile.

Thirty seconds later, I surfaced once again, this time with a longsword gripped firmly in my hand. I sighed with relief as the blade found it's rightful place on my back.

I walked leisurely out of the building, savoring the chaos. "Now to find a half decent pharmacy," I mumbled under my breath. Some time later, I sat leisurely at a small cafe in grove 45.

"What an interesting place!"

* * *

A/N Okay, so. This is my very first fanfiction. I fully understand that It's probably sub par, but I promise that I'll try to get better. I'll bet that this'll be a great learning experience, actually.

On a different note, I'm gonna try to do around 1,000 words per chapter, maybe more if I have time.

-Sleep is Overrated


	3. Chapter 3 - Two Years Later

A/N I do not own one piece.

* * *

Chapter 2 - Two Years Later

Kris made her way from her small hut located in grove 6. It was a pretty crappy house, with only 2 rooms, but it served it's purpose. The lawless district wasn't really that bad for Kris anymore. When she had first moved in, she was considered easy picking because of her gender. Of course, those misconceptions were cleared up after quite a few bloodied bandits. After one year of this, locals decided to stop messing with Kris Rast.

She secured her trusty longsword, "Hummingbird" on her back and sprinted down the dirt path, using the momentum to warp away. Several warps later, the swordsman arrived at her second favorite place on the island. She climbed swiftly up the stairs leading to the building.

The place was pretty obscure, really. Kris had stumbled upon it shortly after the Auction House Incident. She never did tell anybody the story of how she had wound up there in the first place. Only that it was "a chain of extremely unfortunate occurrences," or "a really funny story that she didn't feel particularly inclined to tell."

She walked into the building, closing the door behind her before sitting down at the counter. Kris didn't actually come to the bar to drink. Out of courtesy she bought a couple of outrageously overpriced drinks, but really it was the quiet that drew her to the place.

To Kris, the archipelago was just so... noisy. The bar was her place to take a break from it all. "Maybe I should take up drinking," She mumbled out loud. As the words left her mouth, she heard footsteps from behind her. "No, you don't," a familiar voice said from behind her. "You're an impulsive drunk."

A black haired woman wearing a purple shirt walked to the counter of Kris. Kris let out a chuckle. "Maybe you're right. I would probably get myself killed, and then who would you pawn off of?"

"So Kristie, what would you like to not drink today?" The bartender asked. Kris laid her head down on the table, relaxing. "Surprise me Shakky. Surprise me." Life on Sabaody Archipelago was quiet for Kris. To her, it felt as if she was just going through the motions, day after day.

"Do you ever miss being a pirate?" Kris asked, not moving from her spot on the counter. A drink was placed in front of her, although the mug was swept aside instantly. "Do you?" Shakky replied, leaning her elbows on the smooth counter.

Kris tensed, uncomfortable with the sudden reversal. "Sabaody is a beautiful place, don't get me wrong, but I just feel like I can't ever feel _content_ here. I mean, it's just that no matter what I do I can't stop _remembering_ everything. There's so _much more_ out in the ocean than there ever will be on land for me." Kris sighed. "But at the same time, that life is so _dangerous_ Shakky. I lost my entire crew out there in the blink of an eye. I just... I just don't think that I could go through that again." At this point, the swordsman was quite aware of the tears sliding down her cheeks, but didn't care.

Kris tossed a wad of bills on the counter. "Here's the money for the drink," she said, forcing a smile. "I need some time to think."

As the younger woman walked out, Shakky shot up rather uncharacteristically. "I need to find Rayleigh," she mumbled.

* * *

Grove 40 – 10 minutes Later

Kris laid down on moss covered rocks, staring into the ocean. This was her favorite place in the archipelago. Her eyelids closed as she let the steady sound of waves crashing against rocks sooth her.

A dusty piece of parchment was gripped tightly in her hands. Tears dripped onto the crumpled paper as she gazed down at it.

**WANTED**

**DEAD OR ALIVE**

"**Disappearing Act" Kris Rast**

**180,000,000**

The bounty poster featured an old photo of Kris. "Shitty picture," she mumbled, frowning at the photo. She hated the thing. It reminded her of her late crew. Reminders led to dwelling on the past, second guessing and 'what-if's.

She had decided long ago that those thoughts had no place in her life. The fearless pirate, Kris Rast, was no more. She had died with her crew on a sinking ship somewhere off of Sabaody Archipelago. What remained was a simple girl from the lawless district. No more, no less.

Kris almost jumped out of her skin when she an childlike voice spoke from behind her. "Are you Kris Rast?" he asked. When she nodded her head, the mystery man sat down next to her. "I've been looking for you!" he exclaimed. Kris glanced at him, and drawled warily, "Now what would a notorious pirate such as yourself want with me, Monkey D. Luffy?"

The younger pirate laughed heartily. "Actually, I have no clue!"

_Flashback_

Saboady Archipelago – Grove 46

"I'M GONNA DO IT! I'M GOING TO BECOME KING OF THE PIRATES!" Luffy shouted. Rayleigh laughed from his spot on the hill as he watched his pupil's antics. "Actually, Luffy! Could you do me a favor?"

_End Flashback_

"So" Kris mumbled in disbelief. "You want me to join your crew." "Yep!" Luffy replied happily. "Not knowing anything about me, other than that I am supposedly powerful." "Yeah!" "Only because an old man told you to." Stated Kris. At this, Luffy just Laughed. "I've gotta go! My crew's probably waiting for me! We're leaving really soon, so if you want to come with is, you've gotta make up your mind quick!" Luffy shouted enthusiastically, getting up. Kris watched his retreating form in shock. "Goddamnit Shakky."

* * *

Grove 13

"A-CHOO!" A woman sneezed, pausing her conversation. "Someone must be talking about me," she mumbled before turning back to her customer. "This drink will be 200,000 beli,"

* * *

Grove 42

"SET SAIL!" Luffy shouted, his hands raised in the air. "YEAH!" Cheered the assembled Straw Hats, ecstatic to finally be together again.

Luffy stopped to look around him. "I guess that she didn't show up. That's too bad! She was funny!" The crew turned to Luffy, confusion evident in their eyes. "Luffy, what are you-"

"fuckfuckfuckFUCKFUCK!" A voice shouted frantically from above, cutting off the speaker and falling towards the deck at an alarming pace. A strained"OOF!" was heard as the object hit the ship. As the dust cleared, The voice's owner, now identified as a human female, propped herself up on her elbows from inside of a small crater. "Teleporting underwater is a nightmare," she mumbled. She tilted her head up to look at Luffy. "Kristie Rast, at your service captain."

* * *

A/N Okay so I guess that I should explain Kris' devil fruit. My idea is that it instantaneously teleports the user, obviously. But, the distance teleported corresponds to how fast the user is going before teleporting. For example, if the user took one normal step, they would go maybe 5 ft. (Of course last chapter a step took Kris further than that, but for plot purposes let's just go with it.) Jogging would send you 25 ft. Regular person sprinting woulds send you 50 ft, while one piece sprinting (you know, like lets say Zoro's top speed) would send you 100 ft. Also, after warping the user retains their momentum, hence the crater at the end of this chapter. The ship was already underwater, so Kris had to teleport over 70 ft. So, To go that distance, Kris would have to be moving pretty damn fast. She retained that speed when she smashed into the deck. Ouch.

Reviews would be much appreciated. I really do want to be a better writer, so I need some feedback!


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